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True Stories Website > True Stories from the Life of the Prophet
Moses > The Fugitive

True Stories from the Life
of the Prophet Moses:The Fugitive:by Sher Muhammad
Akhtar
Revised by Haji Hadi

"My Lord! I stand in need of whatever good
Thou mayest send down to me." (The Holy Quran: 28:24)

The sun was shining with scorching heat and it
was mid-day. The rays of the sun reflected from the glossy sand and
dazzled one's eyes. Through the desert a stranger was travelling. He
thought that the sun frowned upon him.

It was all calm. The wind had stopped. There
was nothing to be seen but the solitary traveller, who was standing
on a heap of sand and looking all around. His eyes were searching for
some particular place where water could be found. Near the horizon
far away he saw a great lake of water. He approached it, but found
that his eyes had deceived him. It was a mirage, which is commonly
found in the desert. He looked around more eagerly than before, and
at last his eyes rested on a point in the distance. In order, to
ascertain if that could be an oasis, he looked more attentively and
being satisfied went towards it.

He was perspiring profusely. His throat was
parched and he felt very thirsty. He was tired, but he did not lose
heart. He walked with quick paces towards the point he had seen in
the desert.

He had not gone far when he saw palm-trees at a
distance. With fresh courage and full of hope he walked more quickly
and reached the green-land. He saw huts and people passing to and
fro. It was a village.

He stood near a well, which was surrounded by
men and animals. The shepherds were busy drawing water for their
animals. He seated himself under a palm-tree and rested for a while.
The people were so busy drawing water that none took any notice of
the new comer.

In the crowd he saw two young girls keeping
back their flocks and waiting for their turn. The sheep and goats
were so thirsty that they at times tried to get to the water, but the
rude shepherds scolded the young girls for not keeping their flocks
under control.

When he saw the girls in such a pitiable plight
he asked what the matter was. The elder of them looked up to him and
said:

"We cannot water until the shepherds
take away (their sheep) from the water; and our father is a very
old man." (The Holy Quran; 28:23).

He took pity on them and advanced towards the
well to draw water for them. When the shepherds saw a good looking
youth of fine physique, they dared not protest. So he drew water for
the girls and then went back to the shade.

The girls returned home and told their father
all about the young man. He was much pleased with the young man's
courtesy and said, "If you would have only brought him here, we would
have entertained him, for God's blessings are upon him who entertains
guests."

Her father's words inspired the elder girl, for
she had returned from the well with a sense of gratitude towards the
youth. Now she wanted to repay him. She told her younger sister to
cook food while she would go to the well.

The stranger was sitting under the tree,
completely lost in his thoughts. He was thinking of his past and the
circumstances which had made him fly from his native land.

He was not certain of his future, although his
past had been very fine. His thoughts reflected upon his face and he
was there under the palm-tree, a picture of utter hopelessness. But
self-confidence and perseverance were evident from his face, though
the present and future appeared to frown upon him. He looked towards
the sky again and again and prayed to God:

"My Lord! surely I stand in need of
whatever good Thou mayest send down to me." (The Holy Quran;
28:24).

The stranger was thus meditating when he
happened to see a young girl approaching him, and when she came near,
it struck him that she was one of those two girls. With down-cast
eyes she said:

"My father invites thee that he may
reward thee for having watered for us." (The Holy Quran;
28:25).

He hesitated a little and said, "I have not
done this for any reward. I have only done my duty."

"But my father wants to see you,"
repeated the girl, "He is too old, otherwise he would have come
himself."

The stranger thought for a while and then
decided to accompany the girl. He followed her, still absorbed in
thoughts.

The young man entered the house. The old man
looked at the youth whose handsome face and good physique were
apparently the signs of his good breeding. The old man welcomed his
guest and offered him a mat to sit on.

The stranger was much impressed by his manners,
whose reverence and old age had exalted him, and whose face was lit
with heavenly light.

The old man said, "O my son! I am much grateful
to you for the help you have rendered to my daughters. Where have you
come from and where do you intend to go?"

Stranger: "I am coming from Egypt and where I
am to go, I do not know myself."

Old man: "My son! I cannot understand you. Who
are you and why art thou wandering?"

Stranger: "My name is Moses, son of Amran
(Hazrat Imran). I am an Israelite. The Pharaoh is very cruel to
me and to my community and I have fled from his dominion for my
life."

Old man: "My son I knew it well, but what was
that particular thing which compelled you to leave your
home."

Stranger: "It is nearly ten days when I saw an
Egyptian beating an Israelite mercilessly. I came to the rescue of
the Israelite and in this struggle the other man was killed. I came
to know that the Pharaoh had decided to hang me for the crime. I,
therefore, left Egypt and am wandering."

The old man looked at his guest's face and his
wise eyes found the statement to be true.

Old man: "My son don't be afraid now. You are
in Midian, upon which the Pharaoh has no control whatsoever, and you
are safe here."

Stranger: "But my community is not
safe."

They were thus talking when the girl who
fetched Moses home brought a meal. He was hungry and he ate it up and
prayed to God.

The girl who overheard them took pity on him
and said:

"O my father, employ him; surely the
best of those that thou canst employ is the strong, the faithful
one." (The Holy Quran; 28:26).

The old man listened to her suggestion, but did
not reply and was lost in thoughts. When the stranger had finished
his meal the old man asked him, "Dear son, where dost thou go
now?"

Stranger: "I intend to go to Kinan
and settle there to live among my grandfather's family."

Old man: "I also belong to Abraham's family,
would you care to live in your uncle's house?"

The stranger kept silent. The old man asked her
daughter, who was standing nearby, to go and she obeyed. When she had
gone the old man continued:

"I desire to marry one of these two
daughters of mine to thee on the condition that thou serve me for
eight years; but, if thou complete ten, it will be of thou own
free will, and I wish not to be hard on thee. If Allah please,
thou wilt find me one of the righteous." (The Holy Quran;
28:27).

The stranger agreed upon the terms and was
married to one of the daughters.

The old man was Shuaib (Hazrat Shuhaib),
the Prophet of Allah and his son-in-law was Moses (Hazrat
Moosa/Musa), who after ten year's service to Shuaib was raised to
Prophethood.

This page was printed from the 'Official Website of the Ahmadiyya
Anjuman Isha'at-e-Islam Lahore (Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for
the Propagation of Islam)'
located at http://aaiil.org
or http://www.aaiil.org